Tag: sketch

Here’s a sketch that I did a few days ago. This was done in a single sitting. Playing around with toned gray paper. This was created in a Strathmore Toned Gray 5.5″ x 8.5″ (14 x 21.6 cm) sketchbook. For this sketch, I used a 0.9mm mechanical pencil with 2b lead, blending stump, & white charcoal pencil.

A had a little fun working in Procreate. This portrait was created on a gray background, I used simple strokes and crosshatching in both black and white to create the shadows and highlights. Its a simple technique that produces good results.

So far, traditional (pen & paper) techniques have been a direct transfer to digital media. I suppose this should be expected given the simple nature of my art. Sketches are just that, sketches, nothing too complicated. But, that’s what I enjoy.

I will probably begin to post more digital work in the future. I have recently acquired some new toys on the digital front. I hope to have some new work to share soon.

I have been wanting a sketchbook with black paper for a while. I finally purchased one in early January along with a 3 pack of white Sakura Gelly Roll pens in white. The pens came in 3 weights 10, 08, & 05. The portrait below was sketched with the 05 and 10 weight pens.

This was a fun sketch but, you have to remember to focus on sketching the highlights, instead of the shadows. I had to constantly remind myself of this fact. I am so used to sketching the shadows. Starting off light and working my way into the darkest areas of the subject is my usual approach. This sketch was the complete opposite of that usual technique, plus I was using the Gelly Pens which is a very opaque medium so I had to be very conscious of my strokes.

Still, it was a good exercise and I look forward to creating more sketches within the covers of this book.

I follow a number of blogs and interests here on WordPress. Photographers, Artist, Writers…all of them are talented individuals that are putting their work out into the world for others to enjoy and perhaps gain some inspiration from.

One of those fellow bloggers is photographer John Ames. I follow John’s blog Frog Pond Journal, the blog focuses mainly on street photography and John shares some great images.

Recently, one of those images caught my eye and I knew I would create a sketch of his subject. Check out John’s post “A Portrait of Maine” to see the photo that inspired this sketch.

This sketch was created in my sketchbook/journal and may appear a little rough as I was trying to capture his likeness while keeping the sketch fairly loose. Personally, I’m pleased with the outcome.

In case any of you guys are wondering. I reached out to John to ask his permission before writing this post. He immediately gave his permission allowing me to use his photo as a reference.

Hello everyone, Work around the house has slowed a bit, so I now have a little more free time.

I wanted to share this drawing with you that I created back in August. This is a graphite drawing of a snarling wolf. My intention was to leave a significant amount of negative space around the subject and only concentrate on the main features necessary to bring out the wolf’s face.

This drawing is significantly larger than most of my sketches. Typically I create sketches in either a small 5.5″ x 8″ sketchbook or occasionally I may draw in an 8.5″ x 11″ sketchbook. This drawing was created on an 18″ x 24″ (45.7 x 61 cm) piece of newsprint. I realize newsprint is typically reserved for practice but, I wanted to try something a little larger and it was the largest paper I had available at the time.

Newsprint isn’t really that difficult to work with you just have to be careful. It is more delicate than other papers so you need to go lightly with the eraser. The paper also has a tendency to get a little wavy in areas of heavy graphite.

Below is a photo of the completed sketch. This was completed using a range of graphite pencils. There are also a few strategically placed lines of white gelly pen for highlights.

Another primate portrait. I really enjoy drawing primates, it seems there is so much thought and emotion behind their eyes. I also find the wrinkles and patterns of their faces interesting to draw.

This portrait was finished just a few days ago. It was created in my sketchbook using a 0.9mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead. The black background was created using charcoal powder applied with a brush.

Greetings, today I am sharing another portrait from my sketchbook. This was created in July of this year. I came across a photo of an older gentleman cupping his hand to his ear in an apparent effort to increase his ability to hear. I found the act and his facial expression to be so characteristic of an elderly gentleman. I can imagine that this is a scene that plays out over and over in his daily life.

I fully expect to one day be in the same situation, as a matter of fact, I am already guilty of this exact maneuver. Too much loud music in my youth… I imagine.

Progress shot with the outlined sketch and beginning stages of flushing out the face and form. This sketch was created using a 0.9mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead.

and now the completed sketch.

Recently, a spider constructed a magnificent site,
just outside of my studio window.

I am the only one stirring so far this morning. I enjoy the peaceful reassuring silence of the house on these early weekend mornings.

I do, however, share the silence with our loyal 4 legged girl, Katie. She is old, quiet, and all so content, to simply be. Laying on the floor of my study blissfully sleeping away the hours.

This morning I thought I would share a sketch I created back in July. This was created using a 0.9mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead. I enjoy the simplicity of using a single pencil, never having to break concentration or rhythm to pick up a different pencil to vary the tones.

I would like to thank all of you for following along with me on this blog. I know that my posting frequency has been sporadic and there really hasn’t been any set schedule for regular post.

Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking of ways to improve the value of this blog for my followers. I would like to begin introducing content that goes beyond the sharing of my art. I am still trying to sort things out, so please be patient.

Hello all, I’m have returned from my self-imposed leave. After the passing of my father I just needed to take some time to regroup and recenter. I’m truly grateful for your patience as I transitioned through this season in my life.

I’m currently sitting in my home office/studio space. The house is quiet as my beautiful bride and son are still in bed. I cherish my morning solitude as it gives me the opportunity to collect my thoughts and provides time for much-needed retrospection. I believe that everyone can benefit from such time spent alone without distraction.

I have made a few minor tweaks to this blog, an updated about page, & a new minimal theme with full-width image display. I have made the decision to remove the photographer focus from this blog and focus solely on my art. Art is something that I truly enjoy, it removes me from my environment for a while as I focus solely on the work in front of me. It brings me inner peace and is an activity that can be practiced virtually anywhere I go.

Even though I have been absent from this blog for a few weeks I have been posting somewhat regularly on Instagram. I have decided that IG is where I will post my day to day activities and works in progress.

I will leave you with a portrait that was created during my break from the blog. For this particular sketch, I was able to reach out to the photographer of the reference photo I was working from and was able to obtain permission to use his image as a reference. The photographer is Thorbjorn Fessel, a talented photographer to say the least.

This sketch was created with a 2b mechanical pencil and a 6b pencil for the darker areas. The sketch lives in my current ‘go-to’ sketchbook.

Pen & Ink Style with Procreate?

I’ve been wanting to explore the inking brushes in Procreate, in particular, I have been wanting to create a drawing with the Ink Bleed Brush.

I have seen others use the Ink Bleed Brush within Procreate to create some very cool art. I have been wanting to create a pen & ink portrait in Procreate for a while now, so, I decided to give it a go with my latest sketch.

I received positive feedback with my last sketch where I tried to keep the style loose and minimal. I enjoyed sketching in that loose style and I also really enjoyed the process of determining what areas to include or exclude within the drawing. So I knew that I wanted to repeat that style with this sketch as well.